Blogs from Pompei, Campania, Italy, Europe - page 2

After a pretty hot night at Robbies, we woke up, packed up and had some breakfast before locking up our room and locking our bags to the reception desk, ready to be collected later in the day. We headed out in the heat toward the large square in front of the central station for our half day Pompeii tour collection point. After some waiting for later comers we were off, the coach Ride was about 30mins and our trip organisers Martina and Manuela were explaining the days itinerary, the views out the window and a little about Pompei and Vesuvius in English, Spanish and Italian as it was a mixed group. Our tour guide, Elisa, took us around Pompei for just over two hours. We say an old amphitheater which was designed with acoustics in mind ... read more

Geo: 40.7492, 14.5007Today was our last day on the Italian mainland before heading to Sicily and a private tour of Pompeii and Herculaneum with our lovely guide, Barbara.The benefits of being with a knowledgeable guide are so evident when you are in places like these. Barbera was able to put everything in historical context, describe daily life and allow us to imagine what these cities were like in AD 79.In addition to knowing the history Barbara also had extensive understanding of the actual archeological excavations and had been involved in a number of the Pompeii projects. So she pretty much had all the answers to our questions.Fun Fact: It is no longer correct to refer to the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum as being caused by an 'eruption' of Mt Vesuvius (which usually indicates a lava ... read more

Day 9, Positano, Sorrento & Pompeii The morning started with a bit of a rush, I was slightly out with my time, thinking check out was closer to 8am instead of 7.30, so I turned up to the check in point for today’s epic adventure with a cup of tea and a couple of danishes that were my room service breaky… We were docked at Naples, but my experience of the city was only as we drove through on the way down the coast and the way back. On the plus side, those sneaky gypsies that absolutely everyone has been warning me against, stood no chance. Phew! As you probably know, my room is an interior one, therefore, my first view of the morning was on my cabin’s tv, (the forward view). I was surprised to ... read more

Imagine heading off to visit your friends in Murwillumbah, and when you get to where you thought the road leads into the town, you can’t find it. What have I been smoking? you wonder. Then you recall what it was like on your last visit. There was a main road leading to the town, a busy commercial center, a pub that you wanted to own, and streets leading up the hill. You’re ready to sit on your friend’s verandah overlooking the valley, thirsty for a coldie, and looking forward to his old fashioned wood burning barbeque. But today you can’t any of it. Did you take the wrong road? Then you notice that the ground is now covered with ash and pumice; the landscape has changed; the land is higher than before. You ask a passing ... read more

Geo: 40.7492, 14.5007Today we went to the excavation of Herculaneum, another town that was destroyed when Vesuvius erupted in A.D.79. It's much smaller than Pompeii but more intact. It was buried under many, many feet of hot ash, so that it disappeared completely from the map. There was so much material ejected from the volcano that it actually moved the coastline away from the town. You can see the depth of the ash in the photo of the canyon. Where the people are walking at the bottom used to be where the sea was. The arches by the people were shelters where they would pull up their boats. The dirt wall across from the people is the depth of the ash that buried the town!One of my favorite things in the city was the ancient version ... read more